Winter, Canada's Silly Carnival Season

Winter is Quebec's silly season and every year since 1955, Quebec city has hosted the world's largest winter carnival, testing human endurance in conditions of trademark Canadian cold.

Published

3 months ago

Categories

Lifestyle

Topics

Travel & Tourism

Places

Canada, Quebec

Transcript

SCRIPT: It's probably not the first thing you'd think to do in sub-zero temperatures. But for a few hundred risk-happy men and women, racing through a frozen river is the ultimate Canadian experience. SOUNDBITE 1 Sandrine Desaulaniers (woman), Racer (English, 10 sec): "It's like going up with a big, 300-pound canoe over one or two picnic tables, so you have to hop out the canoe and then slide, and push and run." Like so many other things happening during the Quebec winter carnival, the sport is homegrown. But its reach is international. SOUNDBITE 2 Hyunok Lee (woman), tourist from South Korea (English, 7 sec): "I thought always the canoe is a summer sport. So it’s innovative thinking." And that's not the only thing Quebeckers create out of a little ice and snow. This is the biggest temporary art gallery around for kilometers. SOUNDBITE 3 Yohan (man), sculptor from Belgium (English, 5 sec): "My opinion is that Quebec is one of top three of the world's competition." And if frozen art leaves you numb the carnival offers outdoor hot tubs. SOUNDBITE 4 Kelly Munroe (woman, English, 5 sec): "We don't know why we're doing this. This is crazy. I can't feel my feet, but we're going to do it anyway." At minus 20 degrees, it's a dash to the baths. Walking on ice is no easy feat -- even for Canadians. Organizers expect 400,000 people to visit the 17-day carnival this year. No doubt they'll enjoy Quebec's warm hospitality. But the heart of the 58th annual winter carnival is cold, like ice. -------------- SHOTLIST: QUEBEC CITY, FEBRUARY 9, 2013, SOURCE: AFPTV - VAR canoe race - SOUNDBITE 1 Sandrine Desaulaniers - VAR canoe race - VAR of crowd - SOUNDBITE 2 Hyunok Lee - VAR sculptors and sculptures - SOUNDBITE 3 Yohan - woman getting into the hotub - VAR of the people inside the hotub - SOUNDBITE 4 Kelly Munroe - VAR of the people inside the hotub - shots of the crowd dancing and drinking - shots of a group gathered around a fire - VAR around the carnival site